MISSING student Vicky Stephenson was today found alive and well in Dublin.

Her family and friends hugged and wept as the news filtered through from Ireland where she had walked into a police station this morning.

And the delighted detective who led the search for her declared: "Who could have a better Christmas present than this?"

The massive police hunt had been launched after she disappeared for no apparent reason at lunchtime last Tuesday. She failed to respond to calls and texts messages to her mobile phone and police feared the worst.

Delighted

An incident room headed by Det Supt Peter Minshall - one of Greater Manchester's senior murder squad detectives - was set up at Longsight police station.

Spare land was searched and her parents and Alice Jackson, her closest pal from her home in West Norwood, London, travelled to Manchester and put out appeals to persuade the Manchester Metropolitan University student to come home.

Appeals were to be made this afternoon via loudspeakers to football fans at Old Trafford, before Manchester United's match with West Ham, and at Charlton Athletic's game in London against Manchester City.

A first year community studies scholar, the 19-year-old, who was living at Shaw Hall, part of the Daisy Bank Halls of Residence, was last seen in Didsbury Village, attempting to catch a bus into the city.

It was thought she might have been trying to arrange a meeting with a homeless person to interview them as part of her course.

When she failed to return police interviewed scores of homeless Big Issue vendors to see if any had heard anything, but to no avail.

Praying

Yesterday, as hopes were beginning to turn to genuine fears, her mother, Margaret, said she was praying she would be found.

"I'm trying not to think the worst", she said. "But you hear such awful things. I'm just hoping that she will walk through the door and ask me what all the fuss is about."

Now - after 95 hours of hell - her prayers have been answered and Vicky is on her way back to her mother's arms.

Det Supt Minshll said: "We are all absolutely delighted that Vicky has been traced. This was, of course, our objective from the start.

"Her family and friends are all over the moon and looking forward to having her home for Christmas.

"What better present could anyone have?"

Vicky should have returned home to London yesterday (Friday) for the Christmas break, but has not been seen since leaving the Manchester Metropolitan University campus on Wilmslow Road in Didsbury at 12.30pm on Tuesday.

She had told friends she was going into the city centre to interview homeless people as part of her university degree in community studies and was supposed to be meeting up with a friend in the afternoon.

The alarm was raised when she failed to turn up for the meeting which she had arranged by text message.

Match appeals

Police were becoming increasingly worried for her safety as time passed and said it is completely out of character for her not to keep in touch with her family and friends.

Detectives had been planning an appeal at Manchester United's game with West Ham today in the hope it could jog the memory of both Manchester United fans and West Ham fans who will have travelled from London, where Vicky is from.

Officers were also considering a similar appeal to City fans who had travelled to London for their game against Charlton.